Rios heads deeper down the rabbit hole of forbidden love in Star Trek: Picard season 2, he might have a shot at happiness... and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home proves it. During any sojourn into Star Trek's past, avoiding butterflies is notoriously difficult. Nevertheless, Santiago Cabrera's Cristóbal Rios has been, putting it mildly, a massive liability since landing in 2024. As if transporting headfirst into a balcony and admitting to an immigration officer that he came from the future wasn't bad enough, Rios has managed to fall in love within the space of a few days. Rios and Teresa's relationship has blossomed quickly throughout Star Trek: Picard season 2. They finally shared a smooch after he showed her his spaceship (not like that), and both have admitted their feelings are growing. Sadly, the romance looks doomed. In Star Trek: Picard's "Hide & Seek," Teresa finally asks Rios if he'd consider staying behind in 2024, believing (not unreasonably, given all the Star Trek spinoffs we're getting) the future has enough heroes. Rios barely hesitates before he shuts down Teresa's proposal, arguing that to permanently migrate outside of his native timeline could alter history for the worse.
Rios thinks he can use the old, "It's not you, it's Q" excuse, he should think again. Star Trek history contains numerous examples of time-travelers who, for one reason or another, stayed/got stuck outside their own time, and the most important for our purposes is Dr. Gillian Taylor from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Admiral Kirk's Enterprise crew visited the 1980s to retrieve two humpback whales who could save their present day by communing with a rogue probe (it's as weird as it sounds). Instead of returning with just the whales, the Enterprise took Dr. Taylor along too, displacing the whale expert from her own timeline and into the 23rd century.
Gillian's temporal relocation was, Admiral Kirk could argue, integral for the future's survival, since Star Trek's 23rd century suffered a distinct lack of cetacean scientists and the humpbacks needed specialist care. Indeed, most Star Trek time-travelers who stayed in the past or future - the likes of Spock, Gabrielle Burnham, Borg Queen Agnes etc. - did so either in the process of saving the galaxy, or because they had little choice. In such circumstances, it's only natural the Federation would bend its Temporal Prime Directive. In Rios' case, "I fell for the pretty doctor who treated me" probably isn't going to cut it. You could also argue that bringing someone from the past to the future (like Star Trek IV's Gillian) isn't as damaging to the fabric of time as someone from the future living in the past, which is what Teresa asks Rios to do.
These two stipulations may, however, reveal how Rios and Teresa get their happy ending in Star Trek: Picard season 2's finale. A Starfleet captain staying in 2024 may prove too risky - especially for Rios, who has already stomped more butterflies than Barry Allen - but just like the Enterprise crew did with Gillian Taylor, bringing Teresa and her son to 2401 might be an option. They already know about Borg, Starfleet, and replicators, so Rios could claim leaving the couple in 2024 is far too dangerous. Maybe one of Picard's crew gets gravely injured and Teresa stays aboard (with her son) to assist. Depending on how Star Trek: Picard season 2 ends, Teresa and Ricardo might also find themselves at risk from a vengeful Adam Soong which, once again, gives Rios a valid excuse to whisk them home with him. That he fell in love with her first is just, er... happy coincidence? Star Trek: Picard season 2 has already featured tons of callbacks to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. The punk on the bus, Rios' "I just work in space" line, a character winding up in hospital, etc. Dr. Teresa Ramirez could adopt the same role Dr. Gillian Taylor played, continuing the Star Trek IV homage and adding another Easter egg to the ever-growing list. In thematic terms, taking a character from 2024 back to the future would be... most logical.
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